Sunset
by DaLizzie
Summary: ONE-SHOT A sunset brings back some bad memories for Yugi. PG13 for yaoi and a near-suicide


A/N: This was rather random. I felt like writing something, but didn't feel like working on one of my other unfinished fics, so this appeared. R/R, please!  
  
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Yugi had always thought that the sunset was beautiful. The colors that were painted across the sky as the horizon was lit with flame dazzled him every time. He loved to watch the sky catch fire, burn, then slowly fade out into deep blues and soft purples as the sun disappeared completely to let the stars come out. The slanted beams of light would reflect off the rose-colored clouds to decorate the sky as if in celebration.  
  
He sighed softly, thinking about what a sunset really meant. It meant the coming of night and the coming of darkness, where the only light came from the stars on moonless nights. The light left, leaving everything behind to the night.  
  
Yugi shivered in the cold wind of early spring. It was that time when it wasn't quite cold enough to snow, but still cold enough for one to need a jacket if they went outside. The sun had just barely touched the horizon, sending rays of gold light out over the glass-like ocean waves. It was a familiar image, this sunset over the water. He had seen it many times before in this same place.  
  
A bitter smile touched the small boy's lips as he gazed at the sea. He remembered a night like this, but it wasn't spring then. It had been fall.  
  
He could see the dead leaves swirling in small gusts of wind over the wet, rain-slicked grass. The tree branches had looked like skeletal fingers above him, reaching out to try and grasp the clouds in their icy grip. It was in the same park that he was in now, and he had seen the sunset out over the grass and the trees and the sand and the water. He never liked remembering that night. In spite of the brilliant sunset that had presented itself before him, everything seemed very dark that evening.  
  
Something had snapped earlier that day, and Yugi had never been sure what it was. Maybe Jounouchi or Honda had said something a bit too harsh, or maybe he had gotten too frustrated over the puzzle that just wouldn't go together. He wasn't sure then, and he wasn't sure now. All he knew was that a wall he had carefully set up against the rest of the world had cracked, the dam he had put up against all his dark emotions had broken, and all the lights in his world had suddenly gone out. So, at precisely seven thirteen that night, he had run.  
  
Yugi's grandpa had been watching television, and hadn't noticed Yugi sneak out of the house quietly. He also hadn't noticed Yugi slip into the kitchen before he left and open the knife drawer. The boy had run down the crimson-washed streets, racing in the direction of the sun that was slowly setting on the horizon. The last light in his world was disappearing into the dark, hidden depths of the sea, and Yugi kept running.  
  
He ran until he was in the same spot that he stood in now, pulling his jacket tighter around himself against the chill wind of early spring. Closing his eyes, Yugi remembered falling back against one of the skeleton trees and onto the damp grass and brown leaves.  
  
The knife was in his hand, colored red and gold from the light of the fading sun. Yugi had toyed with the knife for a few minutes, setting it against his wrist again and again, then pulling it away and setting it against his throat instead. Looking up, Yugi remembered seeing that the sun was only a sliver of faraway yellow light on the edge of the sea's horizon.  
  
Not long now, he had thought. Just a few more moments, and darkness would claim all. Then, it would claim him. He wouldn't have to deal with the after-school beatings, the jeering taunts, or the bullies on his way to school. But especially, he wouldn't have to deal with the loneliness. He wouldn't have to feel anymore; no more pain, no more sadness, and no more loneliness. Yugi reveled in the idea, finally setting the knife on his wrist as though he had made his final decision.  
  
The sun had set. All was dark by the sea that night, and Yugi could barely see his hands in front of his face. He smiled in the dark; a smile that had nothing behind it but tears and sadness. He began to draw the knife across his wrist, and could feel a slight pain as the blade pierced his skin. He felt a small trail of blood course down the side of his arm, and the smile widened as he prepared to cut deeper.  
  
Something had stopped him, Yugi had realized a few moments later when he hadn't cut any deeper. What was it, he had asked himself idly. For reasons unknown to even himself, Yugi had looked up at the sky, wondering if the sun had suddenly reappeared to save him from himself. But it wasn't the sun; the stars had finally come out. Even in the darkness, they sparkled with all the light that they could muster, no matter how vast the darkness of the night sky was all around them.  
  
That was what he had been looking for, Yugi had understood the next day. There are always stars in the night, always light in the darkness. Even after the sun had set, there was always a glimmer of hope that could sustain you until the next sunrise finally came.  
  
That realization had let him live on that night, no matter how hard the next day or the next day or the day after that would be. He had lived on, and he had never stopped thanking whatever great power had let him see the stars that night for helping him to live on.  
  
Yugi opened his eyes, letting the memories from those many years ago fade into the back of his mind as he watched the sun vanish beyond the white-capped waves. He smiled, knowing that the stars would be coming out soon.  
  
From behind him, strong arms wrapped themselves around Yugi. A soft voice whispered into his ear, "It was a beautiful sunset."  
  
Yugi nodded, leaning back against his lover. "Yes, it was."  
  
The soft voice spoke into his ear again, "Do you want to go home now?" Yugi didn't answer for a moment, thinking how lucky and happy he was that he had a home to go back to.  
  
"Or do you want to stay until sunrise?" The tender voice asked teasingly.  
  
Yugi chuckled softly, turning his head to smile at his lover. "No," he said. "I already found my sunrise."  
  
Yami smiled back at him. "I love you, Yugi."  
  
"I love you, too." They walked back home with their arms around each other, leaving the past memories to bury themselves under the last leaves of an autumn long gone. 


End file.
